Days turned to weeks and soon enough it was early February. The school was buzzing in the lead up to Valentine’s Day and Hermione couldn’t stand another second of it.

“Alright, Granger?” George asked sitting beside her in the Common Room.

“Yeah,” she smiled looking up at him. “Sick of all this Valentine’s Day nonsense.”

“It’s not that bad,” George shrugged and smiled. “It’s nice.”

“You’re kidding? The infamous George Weasley is telling me this is nice?” Hermione asked with wide eyes.

“It’s just a day for couples to be couples, it’s nothing too bad,” George said.

“And single people to feel miserable and rejected,” Hermione sighed and spotted Ron across the common room. His eyes met hers for a moment before they were cast down ways and he left quickly. Ron hadn’t spoken to her since his apology and he didn’t talk much to anyone anymore. Sometimes she would see flashes of the real Ron when he was talking to Harry or any of his siblings but most the time all she saw was a hollow shell. She had broken Ron Weasley. There was nothing else to it. He loved her so much that her not feeling the same way had shattered his heart.

“Ron’s healing Hermione,” George told her sensing her guilt.

“That’s not what I would call it,” Hermione admitted and bit her lip.

“George,” Fred called interrupting the conversation.

“Yeah, mate?”

“I need a word,” Fred told him seriously.

“I’ll see you in a minute,” George told Hermione and followed his twin up into their dorm.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Ask her out for Valentine’s,” Fred said grinning.

“What?” George asked completely bewildered.

“It would be perfect George,” Fred said excitedly.

“Fred, I don’t know if you just don’t listen when I speak or if you just don’t give a damn what I say but let me be clear when I say that I’m never going to try things between us. Ron’s my brother and I won’t do this to him,” George said slowly already irritated by his twin.

“George, to be honest I was just hoping somehow something had knocked some sense into your stupid, insensitive head,” Fred told him. The argument about what George should do about Hermione had quickly become a personal and prominent one between the twins. All Fred wanted was for his twin to be happy and not only was George not allowing himself happiness but his actions would end up having the same affect on Hermione.

“You know what,” George began angrily. “I thought that no matter what, whatever troubles I’m going through I’d always have my twin’s support but I don’t have that in the slightest.”

“I will support you in everything you do as long as you’re doing what’s right for you and the people you love but I’m sorry what you’re doing now is not right for anyone,” Fred said.

“Well fine, if that’s what you think but I don’t remember asking what you thought so maybe you should keep it to yourself,” George shot at him.

“I just thought you might care what I had to say,” Fred said. “I just don’t want to see you hurt.”

“And I don’t want to see Ron hurt,” George said and silence settled over them. They glared at each other intensely neither of them wanting to back down.

“George...” Fred persisted after a while.

“Just drop it Fred. I know you mean well but I know what I have to do,” George told him.

“You’re just going to end up hurting her and yourself,” Fred warned him.

“We’ll see,” George said and left without another word leaving Fred staring after him in concern.

George stopped to stare at Hermione before she could notice him then sat beside her.

“Hello again,” she said and smiled.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he grinned at her but if faltered as he realised he needed to start distancing himself so they were good friends and no chance of anything more.

“I was just wondering if you have no plans on Valentine’s Day, instead of us both looking like idiots all alone we could go out. You know just as friends,” Hermione said though didn’t look at him she merely played nervously with her hair.

“Um...” George hesitated. He knew that going out with her on Valentine’s Day, a day for romance and love was dangerous but how could he say no. He could hear her anxiety and shyness and imagined himself asking her. Even though she had said just as friends it was a terrifying thing to ask for fear of rejection. “Sure, it sounds great.”

“Cool,” she said and breathed a sigh of relief. “Hogsmeade?”

“Yeah sounds good,” he said and couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Okay I’m going down to dinner,” she said. “Coming?”

“No thanks,” he said and said a quick goodbye before rushing up to his room.

Why was he so stupid? He should have said no and he knew it but he cared too much about her feelings. He was supposed to space himself from her to save her feelings and yet he was also agreeing to spend more time with her for not only her feelings but his own. Love didn’t seem very much like the amazing experience everyone claimed it was.

Valentine’s Day arrived quicker than George had expected and he had failed to get out of his not-a-date with Hermione. He wanted so badly to take Hermione out on a romantic date but he loved his brother and he would not hurt him. Ron was miserable already and George refused to be the reason he took the step from depressed to suicidal.

He sat in the common room waiting for Hermione. He wasn’t exactly sure of his plan yet but he’d just have to go with it. Whatever he did would ultimately be better for Hermione. He could not and would not set her up to fail.

“Hi George,” she smiled as she entered the Common room. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

“Hi...oh um yeah...thanks,” he said awkwardly. “Listen I’m really sorry but I’m not really in the mood to go out today...”

“Oh...right...well...that’s okay. I understand... it probably would’ve been awkward anyway. I’ll just...um see you,” Hermione murmured unable to prevent herself feeling hurt and disappointed as she started to walk past him afraid that tears were not far behind.

It was only then George noticed the single red rose that she held in her hand by her side, “What’s that?”

“Oh um...I just...I found it...” she lied unconvincingly and George knew straight away that it was for him. Part of him wanted to ask to have it but he couldn’t and he had to remain strong despite how agonising it was to know that he had hurt her.

“Okay well I’ll see you later,” he said and she nodded walking past him to her dormitory.

Hermione bit her lip hard. She was in love with George Weasley and having found the courage to ask him out, even though it was just as friends, meant the fact he had just decided he didn’t want to go hurt. She felt rejected and she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. Did she just pretend it never happened and act as if her heart wasn’t being slowly broken?

She sat in silence for a while, she didn’t cry because she had experienced real tragedies and she knew that something so trivial was not tear worthy but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t upset. Deciding she shouldn’t let it get her down she left the common room and headed to Hogsmeade without George.

George sighed. He felt horrible and guilty and he knew he was wrong. He loved Hermione and that should be all there was to it but once Ron was added to the equation he couldn’t bring himself to just be with her. The whole point of distancing himself was that it would save her feelings in the long run instead of being really close and then not being able to be together in the end. But he had seen the hurt in her eyes and the fact that he was responsible for it made him feel a million times worse.

Despite all of this he had to get over her and the only way to do so was to find someone he could love even more than Hermione. Even in his own head he knew it was crazy. He had never felt the way he did for Hermione about anyone else in his life and he knew he never would but he had to at least try.

He spotted who he was looking for in the corridor and called out to her, “Jane! Jane!”

“Oh hi George,” she said smiling and batting her eyelashes at him.

“How would you feel about going out with me today? To Hogsmeade?” he asked her.

“Oh George are you asking me to be your valentine?” she asked flirtatiously.

“Yeah I suppose I am,” he said. “So what do you say?”

“Well... yes! Oh my God, I just knew you would ask me. We are so perfect for each other,” she gushed and clung to his arm.

“Yeah,” George said with no enthusiasm, already regretting his decision and wishing the girl on his arm was Hermione.

Hermione wandered around Hogsmeade feeling lonely and pathetic as she watched the couples being romantic together. After a while she decided to stop in at the Three Broomsticks before heading back.

She stepped in and approached the bar but turned catching a glimpse of red hair. She wondered if it was Ginny. But no. She had to blink to make sure she wasn’t seeing things but sure enough it was him.

George sat at a table with Jane. She had her arms around him and was smiling up at him with big round eyes as he looked down at her eyes filled with something that Hermione couldn’t place. And then his eyes weren’t focused on Jane at all, they were looking anywhere except her. It wasn’t long before they landed on her.

His eyes widened in realisation as he saw her, his lips parting in shock and uncertainty. Hermione had to blink back tears. How dare he lie to her? But why did he lie? Why lie to her to go out with Jane? It made no sense.

She turned and left quickly hurrying back to the castle. She threw herself onto her bed in her dormitory. She loved him but not only did he lie to her, he liked Jane. Was that who he was talking about on New Year’s Eve when he said he’d found his perfect girl? And she had been foolish enough to think it was her. It would have been comical, the prankster and the bookworm. Impossible.

“You did what?” Fred asked shocked at his twin.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” George said and groaned.

“George,” Fred said holding his head in his hands. “Can you imagine how hurt she is?”

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” George said and shook his head.

“You have to fix this, George,” Fred told him and Fred had never felt such a great urge to punch his twin.

“I know...I know,” George sighed. “The slide... it doesn’t apply to us, does it? Because we are above the usual student age.”

“Yeah I suppose, I mean teachers can go up so we must be fine,” Fred agreed.

“I don’t know what to do or say,” George admitted.

“Maybe the truth is the way forward?” Fred suggested.

“I can’t Fred...you know I-.”

“Yeah Ron. I know,” Fred said plainly. “You still have to apologise for firstly blowing her off and secondly lying to her.”

“I know,” George said. “I’m going.”

“I can’t understand what you did today,” Fred admitted and shook his head, gesturing helplessly.

“I just...If I can’t be with her then I have to get over her,” George said knowing how pathetic it sounded even in his own head. “I thought maybe if I focused my attention on another girl that somehow it would help but now I realise...if it’s not Hermione then I will never be happy.”

“So what are you saying George?” Fred asked.

“Me and Ron are going to be in the same boat. And trying to get out of it will ultimately lead to me drowning,” George told him.

“I don’t like when you use metaphors like that,” Fred huffed and sighed. “Alright whatever. Just go. Do what needs to be done and make things right with Hermione.”

Okay so it wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be but I tried...let me know what you think! Hopefully next chapter will be better! Please drop me a review! Thanks a million for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it and have enjoyed the story so far!

Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story! Jenna :)